The convener of the All Jammu Civil Society Forum (AJCSF), Th. Gulchain Singh Charak convened a special meeting of the Forum today the 24th January 2019 to discuss the various important burning issues concerning the Jammu Division at Dogra Bhawan.The former minister informed that he had been monitoring the progress on the Mubarak Mandi restoration and the preservation of the archives after he along with the delegations from Dogra Sadar Sabha (DSS) met the Hon’ble Governor, the Chief Secretary and made a power point presentation to the Advisor Shri Khurshid A Ganai. The members noted with concern that the government was planning to move the documents from the archives to the new secretariat complex where a server is being fixed for digitization /uploading. All members expressed their resentment to this proposal since the documents are in very fragile delicate condition and of sensitive nature demanding confidentiality. The documents may not withstand such handling and will wither away. Their move to secretariat, as proposed may result in destruction and permanent loss of the priceless treasure and undesirable exposure to one and all. It was suggested that all documents including the ones in Kala Kendra be shifted to the erstwhile information Deptt building next door in the Mubarak Mandi Complex and processed/preserved under controlled supervision by custodian staff and stored there itself. The server for uploading may be shifted to Mubarak Mandi complex itself to save avoidable pack/unpack and transportation damages, exposures and losses. It was also brought out that the former Chief Minister in a meeting of governing body of MMJHS had allocated a sum of Rs 50/- lakh for the purpose of shifting these documents to old Information Deptt building after its renovation, but nothing is heard of it thereafter. The Governor Shri Satya Pal Malik had also assured DSS delegation, an allocation of 65 Cr to start restoration work from the current years financial budget but not much is seen on the ground so far. While condoling the Gandola accident deaths the meeting urged the Hon’ble Governor that this project needs a fresh re-look and recast as per original plan to start from the Mubarak Mandi Heritage complex connecting Bahu Fort/ Bage-e-Bahu and Mahamaya temple. While the magisterial inquiry is already ordered, this aspect may also be re-examined by a committee in a time bound manner to make it meaningful and tourism friendly. The committee must include technical experts and representatives of knowledgeable members from tourism and those connected with the heritage. The members also discussed the Jammu festival that has also lost its originality of showcasing the composite Dogra culture, its secular ethos and participation of all communities and religions as it was originally started from the Mubarak Mandi Complex. The civil society envisaged much greater participation of the Dogra Sadar Sabha, Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and the Civil Society and give a platform to show case Dogriyat, Dogra art, local artists in a display of secular solidarity for which this region is famous of retaining.The former minister Th. Gulchain Singh Charak urged the Hon’ble Governor to give time to our joint DSS and AJCSF delegation, with concerned government officers present, so that details may be discussed for on spot decisions taken, since not much time is left for the summer tourism season.The prominent members in the meeting included Maj. General Goverdhan Singh Jamwal, Anil Suri, Neeraj Anand, Brig M. S. Jamwal, Col. Dr Virendra K. Sahi, Krishan Lal Gupta, Col. Karan Singh Jamwal, Amanat Ali Shah, S. Kulbir, Singh, Parveen Gupta, Ravi Singh, Balwinder Singh and Vidya Sagar Sharma.
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